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Worst cyclist that won a monument

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Avoriaz

Avoriaz

Mar 7, 2009
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Don't really like referring to riders as the worst, so maybe "one hit wonders" will do.

How about:

Erich Maechler - 1987 MSR
Gabriele Colombo - 1996 MSR
Vladislav Bobrik - 1994 Giro di Lombardia
Jean Marie Wampers - 1989 Paris-Roubaix
Erik Van Lancker - 1990 Liege-Bastogne-Liege

though I let Van Lancker off as I stood on the podium with him at the 1985 Milk Race (after winning a contest on kids' TV...)
 
sublimit

sublimit

Jan 18, 2010
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Heinrich Haussler is the worst monument runner up. :eek:

Off the top of my head Zaugg or Iglinsky because they are very unlikely to win again not that they're bad riders.
 
Volderke

Volderke

Mar 29, 2012
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If you win 4 'classics' like Eric Van Lancker, you are not a one hit wonder. Same goes for Maechler.
Definite one hit wonders are Van Summeren, Cees Bal, Johan Lammerts, Bobrik, Zaugg, Colombo, Wampers and some others.

Bobrik, Berzin, Gotchenkov, Kashechkin and some other riders from the far east should never have been riding a bike in competition.
 
P

pastronef

Aug 19, 2011
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Volderke said:
If you win 4 'classics' like Eric Van Lancker, you are not a one hit wonder. Same goes for Maechler.
Definite one hit wonders are Van Summeren, Cees Bal, Johan Lammerts, Bobrik, Zaugg, Colombo, Wampers and some others.

Bobrik, Berzin, Gotchenkov, Kashechkin and some other riders from the far east should never have been riding a bike in competition.
Click to expand...

Berzin was not a bad rider

but BOBRIK!! ahah! I forgot him, he beat Chiappucci at Lombardia 94, I was so mad at him! :mad:
I was a kid
:p
 
Roude Leiw

Roude Leiw

Aug 3, 2009
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Avoriaz said:
Don't really like referring to riders as the worst, so maybe "one hit wonders" will do.

How about:

Erich Maechler - 1987 MSR
Gabriele Colombo - 1996 MSR
Vladislav Bobrik - 1994 Giro di Lombardia
Jean Marie Wampers - 1989 Paris-Roubaix
Erik Van Lancker - 1990 Liege-Bastogne-Liege

though I let Van Lancker off as I stood on the podium with him at the 1985 Milk Race (after winning a contest on kids' TV...)
Click to expand...

maechler has quite an impressive palmares besides classics

Bobrik should have been way better considering that he rode for Gewiss :D
 
S

shalgo

Aug 11, 2010
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pmcg76 said:
What about Dirk Demol, Paris-Roubaix 88 when his breakaway companion Thomas Wegmuller got a plastic bag stuck in his derailleur and couldn't change gears for the sprint.
Click to expand...

Demol must be a strong candidate. What else did he ever win? I think one semi-classic in his whole career. In addition, his Roubaix victory wasn't exactly a stunning performance: he got in an early break that day, the favorites never got the chase organized, and, as you mention, his breakaway companion couldn't even get in the right gear to sprint.
 
CraZyCaLL

CraZyCaLL

Feb 27, 2010
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Volderke said:
If you win 4 'classics' like Eric Van Lancker, you are not a one hit wonder. Same goes for Maechler.
Definite one hit wonders are Van Summeren, Cees Bal, Johan Lammerts, Bobrik, Zaugg, Colombo, Wampers and some others.

Bobrik, Berzin, Gotchenkov, Kashechkin and some other riders from the far east should never have been riding a bike in competition.
Click to expand...

Why?:confused:

Backstedt for me
 
G

Gotland

May 14, 2009
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Roude Leiw said:
I stand corrected, which leaves me with Magnus Backstedt
Click to expand...

Backstedt has 3 top 10's in P-R (7-1-4).
A 2nd in Gent-Wevelgem he would probally had one more podium 2005 but Pozzato crashed into him with a couple km left.

Yes he got lucky since both Museeuw and van Petegem punctured. But the didn't take so much time on the front group and Backstedt had a better sprint then both of them.

Jacky is my bet. For worst cyclist to win a monument in recent time. And yes I know he won a couple of tour stages and a Paris - Tours.
 
Caruut

Caruut

Oct 30, 2011
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Serse Coppi, brother of Fausto. Won a Paris-Roubaix after winning the sprint for 4th. The three lead riders were misdirected by an official on their way to the velodrome and would likely have won anyway had it not been for this. André Mahé won, but the Coppis heard about the irregularity and Fausto pulled a few strings to get Serse a Paris-Roubaix. As far as I can tell that was his only win of any real note.
 
W

woodenswan

Jul 24, 2011
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Caruut said:
Serse Coppi, brother of Fausto. Won a Paris-Roubaix after winning the sprint for 4th. The three lead riders were misdirected by an official on their way to the velodrome and would likely have won anyway had it not been for this. André Mahé won, but the Coppis heard about the irregularity and Fausto pulled a few strings to get Serse a Paris-Roubaix. As far as I can tell that was his only win of any real note.
Click to expand...

a bit too harsh perhaps? i dont know how good he actually was, but his chances to rack up wins were somewhat limited, owing to the fact that he died 2 years later at the age of 28 after a crash.
 
the asian

the asian

Jan 20, 2011
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Among the last 25 years Zaugg. His win was definitely the least expected.
Guys like Vansummeren and Nuyens had top 10 finishes before in classics.

If you go back further, Demol I watched the 1988 PR on Youtube and certainly Demol was a lucky man. The main peloton was overconfident and let the break to get too much of a gap and then his final breakaway companion had an issue with his tires.
 
R

rghysens

Mar 10, 2009
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It's difficult to determine who the "worst" cyclist is that won a monument.
In my opinion Oliver Zaug is the least succesful cyclist that ever won a monument, closely followed by the likes of Dirk Demol, Fréderic Guesdon and Vladislav Bobrik.
Behind them are racers as Serse Coppi, Evert Dolman, Marc Gomez, Cees Bal, Johan Lammerts, Magnus Backstedt,...
 
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